Keyboard layout HP Omnibook X Flip German missing < > |

Installing Zorin OS
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Hello everyone,

I accidentally deleted my previous post and didn't find a way to restore it - I earned the medal Dumbest User Ever - sorry.

So again:
I own a HP Omnibook X Flip 14 - fk0178ng. It runs Zorin OS Pro 18.1.

My wife, who is a maths teacher discovered that the Germany keyboard layout is missing the "< > |" key - usually located in between the (German) Y and left shift.
For her job she desperately needs these characters (less so the |, but I'm sure Linux Power Users will painfully miss that one).

It turns out, that HP simply reprinted the US layout with the German and added "< > |" to the L key. In Windows there is probably a driver for that. Not so in Linux.

You can see the layout here:

The (German) article addresses the very same issue but as a matter of comfort under Windows: https://www.nerd-o-mania.de/wordpress/2025/08/hp-omnibook-x-flip-test/

None of the layouts we tested solved the problem.
Using the US layout for < and > on the German , and . keys is not practical for everyday work as this layout misses the Umlaute as well as changes a lot of keys such as Y <-> Z.
There simply has to be direct access to < and > on the keyboard.

Question:
Is there any specific German HP layout for Linux?
Or better: Is it possible to customize the layout of individual keys such as ALT GR + L for <, ALT GR + Ö for > (or even the Copilot key) as it is not needed in Linux.

Thank you very much!

Sorry for posting this twice...

Philipp

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Hello it look like it's most likely a Swiss German (QWERTZ) keyboard.
you can set it in settings > keyboard

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Thank you for the fast reply.

The Swiss layout - a least as pictured here: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fswiss-hp-keyboard-v0-qbb51z5uomqe1.jpeg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D8e120f6dd0fccd4c52260a425317994f4e368260 - misses the German "ß" as well as the secound function of buttons 1, 2, 3.... are somehow different.

So that probably causes other issues.

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did you try ?

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Yes!

ß is gone, X squared is also located somewhere else (not acceptable for a maths teacher), interestingly not even < > was on L - didn't find out where.

I tried only one of the 4 Swiss layout options, but I assume, that the changes concerning the @ and X squared and cubed and others will be the same on every single of them.

The printed layout on the laptop is the "German - German" one (not Swiss - German) but HP style unfortunately :-).

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Sorry but I can't test it for you, maybe someone have a better idea

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Hello,
Brave’s AI gave me the following information (in German).

Das HP OmniBook X Flip 14-fk0178ng (BZ7Z1EA#ABD) wird nicht mit Schweizer (CH) Tastatur ausgeliefert, sondern mit einem deutschen QWERTZ-Layout (DE) . Die Lokalisierung ist auf „Deutsch / Region: Deutschland" festgelegt.

Have you also tested the ‘German – Germany’ layout?

8

You could try it with input-remapper and then remap one or two keys which you don't need.

I personally find it difficult to use, but perhaps you'll understand how it works. Ponce-De-Leon can better help you with this program.

1 Like
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For this @Forpli's Suggestion with Input Remapper might be a good Solution. I use it, too. I have changed my Knob Click to something different. You can download the latest Version from the github Page that @Forpli has linked or You install the Version waht is already in the Repos.

To do that, open gnome Software and look for Input Remapper:

grafik
grafik1164×211 26 KB

Or You can do it via Terminal with the Command:

sudo apt install input-remapper
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Yes, I'm using the "German - German" :grinning_face: layout.
There, the ALT GR + L is "ł", not anything like <,>,|.

Thank you, I'll try Input Remapper!